Storm batters U.S. state of Louisiana

HOUMA, United States (AFP) — Heavy rains and strong winds hammered Louisiana early Thursday as tropical storm “Francine” moved inland, leaving many residents without power while floods threatened the US southern state.

The storm weakened from a hurricane as it moved over land, forecasters said, but it still posed risks and a flash flood emergency was earlier issued for the city of New Orleans.

Local TV stations and footage on social media showed coastal towns battered by the storm, with some streets flooded and locals filling sandbags to protect property from floodwaters.

More than 370,000 customers across Louisiana were without power, according to monitoring website poweroutage.us.

“Francine” made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on a five-level scale in Terrebonne Parish, on the southern edge of the state, at 5 p.m. local time, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Hours later "Francine" was downgraded to a tropical storm with sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour, with one to two meters of storm surge, and up to a foot of rain in some parts of Louisiana, as well as areas of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, the NHC added.